We're now closing the live blog for today, but we'll be back again tomorrow morning to follow all the latest developments. Until then, you can keep up with all our other Ukraine coverage here.
In the meantime, here's a Christmas message from the Ukrainian president:
Poroshenko, Ukrainian Metropolitan Observe Traditional Diving For Cross In Istanbul
Dozens of men braved the cold and jumped into the waters of the Bosphorus to grab a cross flung by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of most Orthodox Christians worldwide. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Ukrainian Metropolitan Epifaniy stood by during the traditional event on January 6 which followed a mass in Istanbul's St. George's Cathedral where Bartholomew presented the head of the Ukrainian church with a decree granting it independence from the Russian Orthodox Church -- a historic split strongly opposed by Moscow.
Ukraine's Newly Independent Church Blessed In Istanbul
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople has handed over a "tomos" of autocephaly to Metropolitan Epifaniy of the new Orthodox Church in Ukraine. Bartholomew presented the document at a church service in Istanbul on January 6, after signing it during a ceremony the previous day. The historic document ends more than 330 years of Russian religious control in Ukraine.
